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I could keep apologizing for being sick and busy and busy and sick…but I’m starting to sound like a broken record. Finally catching up on a few blogposts and did this photo at the tail end of Shoetopia before it closed because well… Gos Boutique! Need I say more? Always a favorite of mine and was so thrilled to see his sexy new release of Bordello style heels called “Dita” with gorgeous corset detailing along the back wedge. I couldn’t resist going for the full monty and getting sexified with this one, but instead of me baring it all (because apparently it has been pointed out to me that I have been baring it all so frequently lately 😛 ) I decided to let my man prop be the eye candy. But only when you can stop looking at the shoes long enough to see what’s going on.

If there’s one thing I love about The Arcade, there’s usually never a shortage of absolutely delicious foodie things! This year was no exception with PILOT‘s very inspiring Candy Bar and Milk & Cookies Bar sets! Add to that, digging through my inventory and finding many past arcade items such as the Pastry Mania set from Tres Blah, and I knew there was a Sweet Shoppe theme about to happen. So one mini-city build later, here we are in my very own Candy-Crush-worthy scene surrounded by all the sugary goodness one could hope for. And did I mention lots of PINK??? I’m a girl who loves pink and I don’t care who knows it. Plus all this gave me an excuse to go buy the super sweet Sunday tee over at DRIFT which was perfect for my yummy pic. Have I made you hungry yet with all my food references? Here, Eat a Cupcake! 😀

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I have some frosting on my lips to clean up. *blushes*

Well it seems as though I’m going to attempt to kill many birds with one stone here. (Sorry little birdies!) I decided to use these photo(s) as a good example for Strawberry Singh’s Windlight Challenge. Though it may not be thee most creative of all windlights I use. I’ll explain why more later and maybe it still is of help to ‘someone’ out there. I’m also showcasing some items from The ARCADE, FaMESHed, and the upcoming Fifty Linden Fridays. I’m a busy girl.. gotta keep it movin.

So without further ado… here’s the Q&A:

Do you use windlight while taking pictures? If not, why not? Yes! I definitely do. I honestly would be lost without them. And have been. On occasion when updating my viewer didn’t take care to save my created Windlights and lost them when doing a clean install. I might’ve cried that day. So now I’m very careful as I rely on them for all my photos. I will share that my discovery of Windlight settings and subsequent falling in love was after coming across Elysium Eilde’s photography. Her vibrant and rich colors to her photos inspired me to get creative with my own.

When taking a closeup snapshot for a profile picture, which windlight preset do you use most often? I don’t really have a designated go-to windlight that i use for profile pictures. Most of the time, even when doing closeups in world, I will use whatever setting I’m using for a full body photo and just take care to adjust the time of day and sun angle to not cast too many shadows on the face that wash out the skin. If I’m shooting a photo in my makeshift studio then I select one of my pre-made Studio WLs that are probably tweaked from some of the default ones that came with the Firestorm viewer. (I’ve included some of those below).

Which windlight presets do you use for full body portraits? Again, I really do customize most every single one. It completely depends on the mood of the photo and the colors in the elements of the photo. Sometimes I really like to play up the sky coloring and make it something unusual and unexpected. Some examples of that are HERE and HERE and um… HERE too. 🙂

If you do landscape photography, which windlights do you use for that most often? I rarely do landscape photography, but as I mentioned before, playing with the coloring of the sky can really create a dramatic backdrop for any photo. If possible I love to use sunset, or sunrise windlights to set a mood when doing landscape pictures. I will agree Annan Adored’s windlight settings are very dramatic. And as Berry mentioned, sometimes just using the default sim windlight is enough. Usually the person that created the environment, chooses a windlight to set the tone for the sim and enjoying it in its original state is great.

Do you have any tricks or tips that you could share for using Windlight effectively? My tip is play with all the buttons. Definitely the sun/moon position and angle and for me the sun brightness and ambient lighting are the most commonly modified. Although lately, I have been working on playing with the density and haze horizon settings more to give that far off faded look to things in the distance. I’ve also found that making sure to lock the clouds helps avoid certain graphics glitches when shooting photos with shadows and ambient occlusion on. You can also adjust the color of the clouds and really give your photos a very different two-toned look in the sky. And lastly, don’t just play with the sky settings…. if you’re shooting over where there is water, don’t forget to take that into consideration as well. Like my above photo, having reflection in the water adds a lot of realism to photography in Second Life.

Have you created any windlights that you would be willing to share with us? I do. And I’ve uploaded several of them HERE for you to try out, including the “Midday Hazy Blue” sky and “Glassy with Waves” water settings I used for the photos in this post. Please keep in mind though that this picture was post-processed and I did add a lot of contrast and brightness as well as de-saturated it some to get the final look.

I hope that I was able to give a little more insight into how I achieve the look in some of my photos, and hopefully that is useful to some of you as you experiment. I am so very glad to have access to so many wonderful windlights built into the Firestorm viewer that they really do give a great base to start from and to the many other photographers who have so graciously shared their custom settings for us to try too. 😀

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts…” (William Shakespeare)

This couldn’t be more perfect a statement for the world of Second Life as well as First Life… I’ve come to realize lately more than ever that sometimes you have to accept that people will come and go in your life or that at times you will be close and then over time drift away. Perhaps only to fulfill a need for a time, to play the role they were meant to play and help grow you in some small way… sometimes even by hurting you. But life doesn’t stop there, and you have to brush yourself off and go back out in the spotlight. You were meant to be there afterall. You were meant to impact someone else’s life too. Maybe you will never know that you even did. Life is just a succession and combination of experiences. Be who you want to be, do what you want to do, and love who you want to love. So when the curtain closes, you can take your bow for a job well done.

And now putting away the deep-thoughts hat and getting to the styling. Today oOo Studio is releasing this lovely new set of poses for Fifty Linden Fridays called “Elizabeta” designed to show off the hands, particularly the Slink Mesh hands that we love so much. Mixing and matching the different hand poses along with the modeling poses to give you some unique looks.

Been a busy week in both worlds, not leaving me much time for blogging but with the start of FaMESHed and C88 for May and the plethora of other new releases from some of my other favorite stores, I can’t help but want to show stuff off. Gospel Voom just came out with yet another pair of sexy sleek wedge heels for his Gos Boutique line.

Ikon Innovia has just released some beautiful new eyes called “Vanity” in a great array of colors. You can even go pick up some in “denim” blue for the May VIP group gift. The Plastik’s new collection of skinny jeans had me salivating because the designs were so unique and edgy.. Had to grab a few of those! I’m a little slow to the party, but this look begged for some ear piercingsand I had just recently discovered the mesh ears from Mandala that were exactly what I needed… there are actually 3 different choices now for piercing styles that are all HUD operated (which I love) as well as one ear set that is un-pierced. Gizza’s new bracelet watches along with LeLutka’s Emeli hairdo are hot hot hot and uber edgy.

Very different from my usual look but I am loving it. Til tomorrow when dress-up begins all over again. 😛

In many parts of the United States right now, it’s Spring Break. The ‘unofficial’ peak vacation period of the year. It’s funny every year as this time approaches wherever I go in RL, someone asks me “Doing anything for Spring Break?” I usually stare at them blankly for a moment, not understanding and thinking in my head “Am I supposed to be doing anything?” Then reply with a very disappointing “Nope. Just the usual.” I honestly don’t think I’ve ever gone anywhere for Spring Break except that one time in highschool, and well… it wasn’t to wild and exciting times in Florida like most highschool and college kids going to frolic on the sandy beaches and get their drink on… instead I was in Georgia. >insert unsure face here<

So since going somewhere exotic and exciting for Spring Break is a little beyond my reality at this point, I’ll just treat my spring fever with a little SL vacation. In my search for the nearest airport, I was actually quite surprised there are a large number of them in SL that you can fly around and many have hangars for your planes, jets, and helicopters. My flight landed me in the Miami Airport. I will not go into detail about how I was nearly run down by one pilot .. but I suppose I was loitering on the runway a bit. 😛 Hey! I had to show off all my pretty spring goodies, like this cute new ColdLogic dress in yummy melon. Added my new espadrilles from Gos Boutique, and struck a pose or two. You can pick up the poses at oOo Studio right now for FREE to VIP Group Members! And now, if you’ll excuse me… I have a date with the beach!

For those that have visited Neva River sim, you’ll remember this spot almost certainly.. nearly at the beginning of entering this green, lush valley following along the riverside… there is a path through covered trees, curling overhead. It’s almost like a gateway in and of itself, and it begs you to stop and take it in. If you haven’t been to Neva River Sim yet…. you are in luck! After many requests, she has extended the closing date and decided to let it remain open until April 7th! It’s definitely a must see.

So back to the path….. unsure of where it would take me, I had no doubt that it would lead to beautiful places. That is, if i stopped to take it all in. Much like life. The journey we are on is uncertain. I, for one, don’t like not knowing what’s up ahead. But sometimes you have to just take it one step at a time. Stop along the way, and take it in. Enjoy each day for what it gives you. Don’t be afraid to tread your own path. It’s sure to lead you to beautiful places. 🙂

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claimBecause it was grassy and wanted wear,Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I marked the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to wayI doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.

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